Thomas regan



GAN PLACER.

T. RE

TORPEDO Patented Jan. 22, 1895.,

Wm) I THOMAS REGAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TORPEDO-PLACER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,907, dated January22, 1895.

Application filed May 28,1894. Seria1No. 512,619. (NomodeL) To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS REGAN, aeitizen of the United States,residing at 1 1 Clinton Place, in the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTorpedo-Placers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,'-

clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates in general to devices for placing torpedoes upon arailway to signal approaching trains, and is particularly designed forplacing a torpedo upon the railfrom the rear car of a train in motion.

The general object of my invention is to provide a simpler, cheaper andmore efficient torpedo placer for this purpose than has heretofore beendevised. 1 I

In accordance with myinvention,Iconstruct the torpedo-placer in twoparts, namely, a torpedo-holder to carry the torpedo and fasten it tothe rail, and a carrier to which the torpedo-holder is detachablysecured and which is to be manipulated by a train-hand on the rear ofthe moving train to deposit the torpedo-holder on the rail andsimultaneously detach it from the carrier.

Theinventioncomprises,particularly,uovel means for attaching thetorpedo-holder to and detaching it from the carrier; for securing thetorpedo to the holder; and for fixing the torpedo-holder on the rail;and in order that my invention may be clearly ascertained, I shall firstdescribe in detail the mode in which I perform the same, and then pointout its distinctive features in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in the various figures of which the same parts aredesignated bythe same letters.

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a torpedo-holder applied toa rail in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a face viewillustrating the attachment of the said torpedoholder to the carrier.Fig. 3 is a side partly sectional view of the same. Fig.4 is a sectionalplan view of the same. Figs. 5 and 6 are under side and edge views,respectively, of an ordinary railway torpedo.

A designates an ordinary railroad rail, to which the torpedo-placershown is adapted.

As before stated, I construct the torpedoplacer in two parts, namely, atorpedo-holder B,as shown in Fig. 1, and acarrier C, as best shown inFig. 3, to which the torpedo-holder is detachably secured, and by whichthe torpedo-holder is deposited on the rail and simultaneously detachedfrom the carrier by a hand on the rear of the signaling train, ashereinafter described. I form the carrier 0, for ease in handling, ofastraight wooden handle, rigidly secured to a metallic head-piece, but Imay make the carrier wholly of metal, and may mount it permanently toslide in vertical guides over one rail on the rear of the car.

For the sake of simplicity and economy, I make the torpedo-holder Bwholly of spring steel wire, bent into form, as shown.

For detachably securing the holder B to the carrier 0, I provide theholder B with a fastener, which I'by preference make in the form of aspring-clamp F, to embrace a corresponding clamping-head G formed on thecarrier 0, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The clampinghead G projectsrearward from a vertical bearing H, against which the front of the clampF bears, so as to be held plumb, and over the clamping-head G is ahorizontal bearing H for the top of the clamp F. To better secure theclamp F to the clamping-head G, I form catches I on the oppositehead-clamping jaws F to enter catch-holes R in opposite sides of thehead G. I, by preference, make the springclamp F in the form of aninverted U, or loop, the arms of which form the head-clamping jaws F,and extend downward and are bent to form the opposite rail-clamping jawsK, below which they diverge to form opposite cam-jaws L, which thuspractically form continuations of the rail-clamping jaws K, and of thehead-clamping jaws F, and spring apart therewith. I likewise form theholder B with forwardly and rearwardly extending horizontal arms M, N,to rest upon the head of the rail A, and thus plumb the holder B, and*Iprefer to form said arms M,N, of an elongated loop, the spring-wiresides of which are secured to the respective sides of the head andrailclamping jaws, and reinforce the same. One, or, as shown, both armsM and N are adapted to receive in their ends a torpedo O, in thisinstance, by the formation of a wire coil P, and the torpedo is furthersecured therein by means of the ordinary attached pliable strap Q; butin lieu thereof the torpedo 0 may be simply inserted within a doublecoil on the end of either arm M or N, or secured to the said arm in anyother suitable manner, with or without the pliable strap Q.

In use, the torpedo-holder B is clamped, as described, to the carrier 0,and the latter held vertically over the rail by the operator on the rearof the train, with the clamping-head G facing rearward and the torpedo Oon the rear arm, M or N, as the case may be, of the holder. At theproper time, the carrier 0 is forced downward quickly, thereby causingthe diverging cam-jaws L on the holder to find the rail-head and bespread apart thereby, until the rail clamping jaws K spring under therail-head and secure the torpedo holder to the rail. Simultaneously, thecarrier-head-clamping jaws F are spread apart by the spreading of thecam-jaws L, and the catches I withdrawn from the catchholes B, so thatthe torpedo-holder is freed from the carrier-head G. The carrier is thusretained by the operator on the train and used repeatedly to place otherholders, carrying torpedoes, on the rail.

The head bearing arms M and N insure the proper setting of the holder onthe rail. The said arms M, N, may be made to fold on the head andrail-clamping-jaws, if desired, for the sake of portability.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a torpedo placer, a torpedo holder provided with a fastener tosecure it to a carrier, fastener-operating cam-jaws to be spread apartby the rail and free the holder, and railclamping jaws, substantially asherein described.

2. The torpedo holder provided with railclamping jaws, forwardly andrearwardly extending arms to rest upon the rail and means for fixing thetorpedo on one of said arms, substantially as herein described.

3. The carrier provided with the clamping head projecting as a bossrearward from a vertical transverse bearing to be embraced by the clampon the torpedo holder, substantially as herein described.

4. The carrier provided with a clampinghead projecting as a bossrearward from a vertical transverse bearing to be embraced by thecatch-clamp on the torpedo'holder, said clamping head formed with catchholes, substantially as herein described.

5. The torpedo -holder provided with a clamp to embrace the clampinghead on the carrier, rail clamping jaws, and cam-jaws to be spread bythe rail and operate the clamp, substantially as described.

6. The torpedo holder form ed of spring wire bent to form the clamp, theclamp-operating cam-jaws, and the rail-clamping jaws, substantially asshown and described.

7. The torpedo holder formed of wire bent to form the clamp, theclamp-operating camjaws, the rail-clamping jaws, and the oppositelyextending arms to rest on the head of the rail, substantially as shownand described.

8. The torpedo holder formed of wire bent to form the clamp, theclamp-operating camjaws, the rail clamping jaws, the oppositelyextending head bearing arms, and a torpedo receptacle on one of saidarms, substantially as shown and described.

9. The torpedo carrier having the vertical transverse bearing, theclamping-head proj ecting as a boss rearward therefrom formed withcatch-holes on opposite sides, and a horizontal bearing over theclamping head, substantially as shown and described.

10. The torpedo holder formed of spring wire bent to form the clamploop, the arms of which are extended to form the rail-clamping jaws, andthe cam-jaws to be spread by the rail and spread the clamp loop,substantially as shown and described.

11. The combination, with the carrier having the clamping head, of thetorpedo holder having the clamp, the clamp-operating camjaws, and therail-clamping jaws, substantially as herein described.

12. The combination, with the carrier having the clamping head, of thetorpedo-holder having the clamp, the clamp-operating camjaws, therail-clamping jaws, and the headbearing arms, on one of which thetorpedo is fixed, substantially as herein described.

Signed at New York, N. Y., April 13, 1894.

THOMAS REGAN.

In presence of- CLARENCE L. BURGER, i J. GULBERT PALMER.

